Benjamin A. Shoemaker

BenjaminShoemaker, 74Sun City West resident Benjamin A. Shoemaker, Jr., died Feb. 20 at Hospice of the Valley in Surprise, surrounded by his family.Mr. Shoemaker was born Oct. 28, 1933 in Muscatine, Iowa, the son of Mabel and Ben Shoemaker, Sr. He was raised in Muscatine, Iowa and graduated from Muscatine High School in 1951. After he met and married his wife, Gwen, he worked for Bessler Locomotive and Hawkeye Company in Davenport, Iowa, before starting his first motorcycle business, a Harley-Davidson dealership, in Muscatine, Iowa in 1958. In 1961, they moved the family and motorcycle business to Sioux City, Iowa.He and Gwen owned and operated Sioux City Motorcycle Sales (Harley-Davidson and Yamaha) for 20 years before retiring to Arizona. The motorcycle business allowed them to meet many exceptional people who became lifelong friends. They belonged to motorcycle riding clubs, including Muscatine Motorcycle Club during the 1950s, Sooland Rainmakers and Spinning Wheels in Sioux City, Iowa, during the 1960s and 1970s, and the Sun City Power Riders since the 1990s. In the late 1980s, he owned and operated Painter's Choice in Pinetop, Arizona.He had a lifelong passion for racing and riding motorcycles. He was a life member of the American Motorcycle Association, and in his younger years a member of the National Motorcycle Racing Association. Over the years he attended many certified training courses at the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Service School in Milwaukee, Wis., to keep up with the changing technology. His enthusiasm for anything "motorcycle" inspired many young people to become interested in riding and/or working on bikes. Mr. Shoemaker was a motorcycle mechanic, welder, pilot and all around "fix-it guy." During the years he lived in Sioux City, he was a member of the Masonic Lodge. He was also a member of Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church in Sun City West.He was an avid collector and president of the Arizona Postcard Club for a number of years, and a member of the Tucson Postcard Club. He enjoyed reading and collecting antique toys and stamps.He was a person of great strength and strong faith that calmed him through his storm of illness. His daughters want to say, "Get on your bike and ride like the wind, dad!"He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Betty Bembenek. Mr. Shoemaker is survived by his wife of 54 years, Gwen Shoemaker; two daughters, Rhonda (Mark) Chilton of Pinetop and Renae Means of Pinetop; four grandchildren, Jennifer Holladay of Katy, Texas, and Sarah, Aaron, and Laura Means of Pinetop; and four great-grandchildren, Kaitlyn, Brenton and Allison Holladay of Katy, Texas, and Elora Seidel of Pinetop.Services were Feb. 23 at Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church in Sun City West.In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in his name to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, 13515 Yarmouth Drive, Pickerington, OH 43147 or Hospice of the Valley, Surprise PCU, 14066 W. Waddell Rd., Surprise, AZ 85379-8736.